fruit in maintenance

if you are in maintenance, do you limit fruit and if so, how?

 this summer I seem to have gone wild with watermelon is why I ask. and, in general, I find I am not eating my veggies before they go bad because I am too busy eating fruit.

honestly, it's much better than ice cream. never thought I would say that.

I am just starting to incorporate fruit back into my diet. Been in maintenance for a few months now but have been scared of the carbs/sugar... Being 15lbs below goal, I'm thinking I should not worry as much about it, lol.

I'll admit to being "frightened" of fruit. I'm just now beginning to incorporate it in small quantities, but I need to really track whether it increases my cravings for carbs and sugar. I was talking about my personal trainer with a coworker who also works with him, and she was telling me about a conversation they had about breakfast. She'd gotten really tired of eggs and protein bars, so she'd recently switched to a bowl of fruit in the mornings. She said he'd looked at her like she'd said she was eating twinkies for breakfast. Because, to your body, it's still sugar.
I dunno... I'm not convinced fruit is as evil as frosting, but I'm not ready to start eating it regularly either. I wouldn't eat fruit alone as a snack though ... maybe combine with a protein source to moderate the blood sugar impact?

I was so happy to get past the first 18 months or so post-op where I didn't have room for what I consider to be normal, healthy eating.

A banana has 30g carb of which 3g is fiber (as much as a serving of Benefiber) 19g sugar (fructose), 8g 'other' carb.  I can eat a banana with no blood sugar spike, at all.

The 'sugar' in whole fruit, is digested more slowly than processed 'complex' carbs like starches. That's why whole fruits are considered low "GI" foods. 

I only occasionally eat fruit.  I'll sometimes add blueberries, rasberries or strawberries to my Fage yogurt.    But, outside of that, I haven't added any.  

I am doing much better on veggies, though!   Love, love the okra!

I've added back some fruit, but I really have to be careful as it can be a trigger for me. So I try to have it later in the day or as an evening snack. This allows me to get my protein in first and also keeps me from being triggered all day.

Because like Escape_Pod says, it's still sugar to your body!

When I have fruit, I always have it with a protein source. I have 1/3 cup of some type of berry with NF Plain Greek Yogurt every morning, and for a pre-workout snack in the afternoon, I have the same thing. If I have any yogurt and fruit leftover, which I often do, I use it in my post workout protein recovery shake. Sometimes, I will use some frozen strawberries or other berries in place of ice, but the usual amount is 1/3-1/2 cup per serving. So, I generally have two small servings of fruit per day. It doesn't seem to trigger me.

Lately, I have been putting some fresh spinach into my shakes, which makes them green, but doesn't change the flavor. Another way to get more veggies and nutrition into me. Plus, spinach is so good for you and is very low in calories and carbs.

gail

 since summer started I have been able to get organic berries locally and they are terrific. one reason I would love to relocate is more variety in produce.

I eat spinach in salad - you put it in a shake, really?  

Yeah, I put spinach in a shake. I just started doing it last week, after reading about it, in a magazine and hearing about someone else at the gym doing it. I though I would try it. I was pleasantly surprised that the flavor wasn't impacted, the color was green, but I thought what a great way to get some needed nutrients. I love veggies, but I really can't eat very many of them and I'm not a big salad eater, so spinach in my shakes, it is. People make green shakes everyday. Next, I'm going to try kale. I have a Vitamix, so it everything is mixed up very well. I use 1-2 cups of spinach.

I freeze the berries that I use for shakes, so that I don't have to use as much ice.

Gail